Michael Harvey is an online Human Services Leadership student in his final semester. Originally from Appleton Wis., he moved around the country after two years of college as a way to help him determine what he wanted to do with his life. Those experiences lead him to want to help those less fortunate, which is why he chose to major in human services leadership. Follow along as he shares his experience throughout his final internship.

Welcome back! I have returned to account for my final semester’s internship. In case you need a refresher, for my junior year internship I worked at a local organization called COTS Inc. I liked it so much I decided to go back for a second round. In case you are unfamiliar with this organization, COTS is a transitional living shelter catering to homeless population in the Appleton, Wisc. area. I wanted to return to gain a deeper understanding of the organization and the people they serve.

By going back to COTS, in some ways, I think I will have it easier than my fellow classmates. I will have a feel of the people (the staff) that I am working with and know where everything is. On the other hand, I think the pressure is on for me to not make the same errors that I may have made previously—but if I survived once, I can do it again.

This time I will be working on a higher level, I am going to be working as a case manager. I will be working with my own clients and all the gory details that go along with it. Of course, I will still have my field supervisor to fall back on, but I still want to do my best to stand my own ground.

As I get ready to begin, I have a nervous anticipation for what is to come. I want to get started so I can accomplish my goal of graduation and move on to the next phase in my life, but I also want to savor this time. We’ve worked too hard to get this point and to not at least enjoy the fruits of our labors. For now, I will try to enjoy what is left of the break, but I know it is near the end. Overall I feel ready: ready for the semester, ready for the internship, but most importantly ready for graduation!